Our panel of judges had their work cut out for them since the contest closed on June 30, sifting through more than 15,000 entries submitted by an eccentric lot of seasoned and amateur photographers from around the world to come up with three grand-prize winners.

Here they are in all their stunning glory:

First Prize

Wagner Araujo was in Manaus to photograph the Brazilian Aquathlon championship. “My lens got completely wet,” he says, “but there was so energy in [these] boys that I just didn’t worry about that.” (Photograph by Wagner Araujo)

Second Prize

Second-place winner Max Seigel writes: “I hiked out to these ruins at night hoping to photograph them with the Milky Way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through creating this dramatic image.” (Photograph by Max Seigel)